The Powers That Be and Our Duty to Them
By M. H. Brown
"Whether it be right in the sight of God to harken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Acts 4:19.
"We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29. Every man who conducts himself as a good citizen, is accountable alone to God for his religious faith, and should be protected in worshiping God according to the dictates of his own conscience.
—George Washington. The Powers That Be and Our Duty to Them
THE instruction which the apostle gives in Romans 13 has a practical bearing upon our relation to earthly governments, and hence should be well understood. From the first two verses we learn that every soul should "be subject unto the higher powers." "The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." In 1 Peter 2:13, 14 we are exhorted to submit ourselves "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake; whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well." We are taught in these scriptures to submit ourselves, and be subject to the powers that be, and to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, and not resist those powers, for if we do, we resist the ordinance of God. The practical question arises, Is this submission unconditional and absolute, or is it within certain well-defined limits? It is certainly reasonable to believe that our obedience would be in all things over which the powers that be exercise a rightful jurisdiction. They are ordained of God for a specific purpose with prescribed limits, as reason would teach and Bible history plainly shows. God, the Supreme Ruler, governs and reigns in the realm of the spiritual, in the minds and hearts and consciences of men, so far as man in the exercise of his free moral agency will permit. If man had always acknowledged God's sovereignty, and obeyed His laws, no church or State would have been ordained, for they would have had no work to do. If man had remained obedient and righteous, no church would be necessary to carry the Gospel and preach Christ, for the Gospel calls sinners to repentance; and no State would be necessary to protect the people in the enjoyment of their rights, for righteous people need not the penalties of the civil law to restrain them from incivility, or acts of violence, because they love their neighbors as they love themselves, and will do good and not harm to their fellow men. Hence it is clearly evident that earthly governments are ordained of God to restrain and punish those who do violence to others, or are guilty of incivility; who will not acknowledge God's authority and submit to His government. In other words, that those who will not be ruled by the law of love, which is the basis and underlying principle of God's moral government, must be ruled by the law of force, which is the basis of all civil government. God rules man thru the mind and conscience, by the submission of his will and heart to God; while civil government can only exercise authority and jurisdiction over the bodies of men, protecting its subjects from violence and the invasion of those rights to which each one is equally entitled; namely, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Powers of Civil Government.
It should also be remembered that if civil government has rightful jurisdiction in the realm of the religious and spiritual, it must have received its authority from the Divine Being, the Author of religion. Is it to be argued or believed for a moment that God has delegated to earthly powers the right to rule the people in matters of religion? Has God abdicated His throne and turned over His moral government to one or more of His subjects,—to a pope, or a council, or a religious oligarchy, or to a corporation known as the State? Such a view involves a manifest absurdity. Surely no one can reasonably advocate the idea that there are two supreme powers, each ruling over the same realm and having precisely the same jurisdiction. This would be equally absurd and fallacious. From these considerations it is clearly evident that the powers that be are not ordained to rule in the realm where God's authority is supreme, the realm of religion and of faith, but to exercise authority in civil matters only, over man in his relation to his fellow man, as a member of society. As all men are created equal, so far as rights are concerned, as expressed by the great charter of our liberties, the Declaration of Independence, no man can give or delegate to another man, or to a corporation, a right or prerogative that is greater or higher than that possessed by each and every other man. In other words, "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed;" hence, as those powers are derived from the people, and the people can give only those which they possess, the government has no right to exercise an authority or power which can not be rightfully exercised by the people who make the government acting in their individual capacity. Or, to state it another way, as no individual has a right to exercise authority over another in the realm of religion, but all stand on an equality, accountable only to God for their religious faith and practise, so the citizens of a country can not delegate to the government any such authority or powers, and the State can have no powers except those delegated to it. Not Responsible for Evil.
Altho the powers that be are ordained of God, He Himself does not administer human government. He ordains civil government, not by a direct official act, but in His providential dealings with mankind. If we are to understand that because the powers that be are ordained of God, therefore He is the Ruler in their governments, then we have God the Author of all the idolatry, wickedness, and despotism of which human governments have been guilty, or which they have sanctioned, for all these powers were ordained of God. We know, however, from Bible history, that these powers have been rebuked again and again by the One who ordained them, for attempting the exercise of authority in matters of conscience. This is shown in the cases of Daniel, the Hebrew worthies, and the apostles and martyrs. They refused to obey or submit to the rulers when such submission would conflict with their duty to God, and we know that He vindicated their course; hence, we know that our subjection to earthly powers is limited the same as their jurisdiction; namely, to civil things. This is shown also by the context in Romans 13, which teaches that when we love one another we fulfil all our obligations to our fellow men; hence, also, all our obligations to the powers that be, which are simply governments of the people, by the people, and for the people, as expressed by Lincoln, our martyred president. That the subjection, submission, or obedience to the powers that be is limited to those things over which they exercise a rightful jurisdiction, and does not embrace matters over which they usurp authority, is therefore proved by the context, by other plain statements of Scripture, and by God's providential5dealings with His people in Bible times. That subject and submit are equivalent in meaning to obey, is clearly proved by their use in the context and in other scriptures. A careful study and comparison of the following texts will show this: Rom. 13:1; Luke 2:51; Rom. 8:7; Eph. 5:21, 22, 24; 1 Peter 2:13, 18; Col. 3:18, 22; Heb. 13:17; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:5. From Rom. 13:1, 2, we learn that those who are not subject to, or do not obey, the powers that be, which are declared to be ordained of God, are guilty of resisting the ordinance of God, and will receive to themselves damnation; hence, a failure to obey earthly powers, while in the exercise of their legitimate authority, is regarded as resisting the ordinance of God. To resist means to oppose, work against, not yield or submit to, as in the scripture which says, 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you.' James 4:7, and also 1 Peter 5:9. These scriptures do not refer to physical resistance, for the weapons of warfare which the Christian is authorized to use are not carnal, but spiritual, for we are commanded by our Saviour not to use physical force in resisting wrong. See Matt. 5:39. In conclusion we will sum up the argument briefly: Human governments are limited in jurisdiction to civil matters, by Him who ordained them. We are to submit to their authority when they keep within their jurisdiction. When the State usurps authority and attempts to enforce or establish religion, or any of its observances, by legal enactment or governmental authority, we are not to submit or obey; we are to resist, as God's true servants have always resisted, not by the arm of flesh or carnal weapons, but by using the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the power of which subdued the Roman Empire in its palmiest days, when wielded by the church in the days of primitive Christianity. A parallel case might be used to illustrate this point. When the church usurps authority and exercises powers not vested in her, we are under no obligation to hear her, for her action is not ratified in heaven, and we are justified in resisting her usurpation of power, and in not submitting to the exercise of such authority. Hence we protest against, and resist with the word of God, all usurpations, whether practised by Church or State.